The snowflake dangled from my fingers as I gaped at the male standing beside me. He was tall and green and wearing glasses—not exactly every little girl’s image of Prince Charming. But in that moment, with those words, Sylvik had become my hero.
“And what did your ex-partner want?” Dark eyes flashed toward mine. “Was he begging for you back?”
“Um…” My fingers fumbled the snowflake as I tried to find the right spot for it. “Yeah, more or less. He’s realizing he can’t pull off the really creative side of the business like I could.”
Sylvik snorted and handed me the next one. “Serves him right. And can I assume…” When he cleared his throat, I glanced over at him, but he seemed—or at least, was pretending to be—fascinated by the bow he was tying. “When you saypartner, were you two romantically involved?”
I sighed, embarrassed to be confessing the truth. “Right again.” When I took the little candy cane from him, our fingers brushed, and I felt that warmth travel up my arm again. It gave me the courage totell the story.
“We started the business at the same time we started dating. We might not have been themostelite wedding planners in L.A., but we were up there. Successful.”
“Probably because his organization kept the business side running while your creativity kept the customers coming back.”
I managed a little huff of laughter. “That’s exactly it.” The candy cane went on a lonely branch. “But asWish Upton A Starrgrew in popularity, Ethan and I started to…grow apart, I guess. He…” I ducked my head. “He didn’t think I was sophisticated enough for the crowd we were trying to impress.”
“Well, that’s bullshit.” Suddenly, Sylvik was there in front of me, gathering my hands in his. “Clearly, your vision was what was impressing these clients.”
I managed a grateful grin, but it probably came out as a wince. “We were together for three years. I thought we were working toward…you know, aforever.”
Sylvik’s brows had risen. “You mean he never claimed you? Never secured your future? Don’t humans normally marry?”
“Ethan said…” I whispered. “He said that running a business together was enough of a commitment.”
Something dark and angry flashed across his face, and I realized there was a spark of green in the depths of his black eyes. Then he loosened his hold on one of my hands to lift his fingers to my cheek. When he brushed a caress against it, I shuddered.
“Then he was a fool, Brooke.”
I swayed closer, enthralled by the flash of green in his eyes, and his scent and warmth and comfort. Had anyone ever said something so sweet to me? Anyone I’d known for a grand total of like four hours?
It was that realization that made me blink and inhale sharply, dragging me back to myself.
You just met this guy. He’s only being kind.
It had taken me and Ethan like four dates before I’d kissed him, and here I was, ready to throw myself into Sylvik’s arms?Calm the hell down, Brooke.
He was clearly a sweet guy, supportive and kind and friendly. I was the one reading too much into this.
Wasn’t I?
I took another deep breath and forced a smile. “Well, I guess Ethan’s offer is a good one?—"
“But you don’t need him.” Sylvik nodded firmly. “If—when you return to L.A. you’ll start your own business, and your old clients will flock to you.”
Oh.
That was…wow. That was really sweet. He had enough confidence in me to run my own business. I doubted I could, not with how disorganized I was, but…Huh.
I didn’t even know if I wanted to return to the west coast, but his vote of confidence was flattering. “Thanks. But I have an important event to focus on now, so I’m going to ignore Ethan’s email for now.”
“That’s for the best.” His smile was almost sad as hesqueezed my hands, then released them. “Want me to finish this up?”
I didn’t want Ethan to ruin this fun evening, so I forced a cheerful grin. “No way, mister! When I said I had an important event to focus on, I meanttree decorating.”
“Silly me,” he deadpanned. “I thought you meant your sister’s wedding.”
I snorted. “I like to finish what I started. Hand me that snowman.”
“This one?” He made the little ornament dance toward me. “You mean the snow-blob with the growth imbalance?”
